On social media a few unhealthy people can cast a big shadow on the wall, but over the past 4 years I’ve met lots of real fellow SW fans. We like & dislike stuff but we do it with humor, love & respect. We’re the VAST majority, we’re having fun & doing just fine. https://t.co/yhcShg5vdJ

As a Vietnamese-American, Tran was the first woman of colour to play a lead role in the iconic series.

Some have fiercely criticised her Star Wars character and directed their hate at Tran personally.

Image copyrightInstagramImage caption
Tran's Instagram page is still visible, with the bio line "afraid, but doing it anyway", but all her posts have been deleted

Online abuse

In The Last Jedi, Rose joins the Resistance movement after the First Order - a military dictatorship - destroys her home.

She later sets out to work together with Finn, one of the film's male protagonists, to take on the First Order.

In one of her now deleted Instagram posts, she had spoken about her excitement at joining the franchise.

"I know how lucky I am to be a part of something that people love, to be able to act and tell stories at all," she said.

But shortly after the movie hit theatres last December, Tran began receiving abusive comments from Star Wars fans.

Rose Tico's character page on Wookieepedia, an online Star Wars encyclopaedia, was changed so that she was renamed using a slur used to mock the East Asian accent.

US internet personality Paul Ramsay also tweeted a photo of Tran making fun of her appearance. Others took aim at her ethnicity and appearance - with numerous comments that were critical of her weight.

I was lucky enough to meet Kelly Marie Tran briefly, and she was incredibly nice to a comics writer who may have been geeking out a bit too much. It's fine to not like fictional characters. It's not fine to harass actual human people. https://t.co/sti2my7zdD

There has been no confirmation from Tran as to why she vanished on Instagram, but her supporters are blaming cyberbullying and have been defending her online.

"Just reading some of the comments, it's no wonder she made the decision," said Sanjiv Indran, the president of the Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club. "It's sad that her life choices are presently being dictated by a horrible bunch of so-called Star Wars Fans.

If you followed Kelly Marie Tran on instagram then you know she has been one of the loveliest and most positive souls on the goddamn internet in the past year and I will FIGHT every last person who hurt her https://t.co/WDP6j2HM5N

I wasn't a huge fan of the Last Jedi, but as an Asian American of Vietnamese decent it was huge to see Kelly Marie Tran in a major role in a Star Wars movie. It's beyond upsetting to see how she's been treated. Also, sickening to see fellow creators encourage it.

kelly marie tran, if you’re reading this, know that we all love you and we are here to support you. you are one of the most genuine celebrities i follow on instagram, and as a fellow asian american, i felt validated and so empowered seeing you on the screen & instagram as well +

I loved The Last Jedi and one of the things I really loved about it was seeing an Asian figure in the Star Wars universe. Seeing that Kelly Marie Tran was harassed because of her presence in the film really breaks my heart.https://t.co/MiKfTYxNlp via @NME

"People can be very precious about the Star Wars universe and what they think it owes them, but they need to remember that these are actors who are doing a job," Chris Brennan, director of Star Walking Inc - which calls itself the longest-running Star Wars club in the world - told the BBC.

"Behind all that they are real people with real feelings that deserve respect."